Canned oil dispensing apparatus



Sept. 20, 1938. w. s. TOWNSEND CANNED OIL DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed March 16, 1955 2 sheezts'shee" 1 INVENTOR mam Z BY m LG ATTORNEYS w. s. TOWNSEND CANNED OIL DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed March 16, 1935 Sept. 20, 1938.

Sheets-Shet 2 INVENT R W144.

QVMLQ my ATI'ORNE'YS Patented Sept. 20, 1938 UNITED SA AT OFFIQE CANNED OIL DISPENSING APPARATUS Application March 16 8 Claims.

This invention relates to an apparatus for dispensing automobile lubricating oils or the like commodities packaged in sealed containers and is a continuation in part of my application Serial Number 680,700, filed in the United States PatentOflice on July 17, 1933, which has resulted in Patent No. 1,998,263, dated April 16, 1935.

A practice which is becoming more and more prevalent in the merchandising of lubricating oils for automobiles and particularly by the producers of quality oils is that of supplying the oils to retail distributors in small sealed and distinctly labelled containers such as quart cans. The purpose of this practice is to prevent the foisting upon the buying public of substituted oils of inferior quality which in the past has been carried on very extensively by unscrupulous dealers both to the detriment of the purchasers and the producers of the superior oils. To evade this method of distribution these unscrupulous and nefarious dealers obtained used cans, refilled them with low grade substitute oils and by various tricks palmed off these inferior oils to motorists for the originals. In this way they more efiectively continued their cheating tactics.

An object of the invention of my parent case above referred to is to provide a device for use in dispensing oils packed .in producer or refinery sealed containers which is easy and convenient to operate and which in opening the cans crushes them so that they cannot be refilled or reused, and the present invention is particularly directed to the feature, embodied in the said dispensing 35 device, of displaying the sealed containers prior to such opening.

A further object of the present invention is to provide such a device for both conveniently storing a supply of the filled cans and for displaying them in such a fashion as to eifectively attract the attention of a motorist driving into or past an oil dispensing station inwhich one of the devices is being used.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as it is better understood from the following description, which, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure l is a front elevation of an embodiment of the present invention showing the cans on display prior to opening;

Fig. 2 is aside elevation of the same;

Figs. 3 and 4 are plan sectional views slightly 9 5, Serial No. 11,480

enlarged and taken substantially along the line 3-3 in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 showing the cans when in display position, and Fig. 4 showing the same fully enclosed and secured Within a storage compartment of the apparatus and out of display position;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective detail on an enlarged scale of one corner of the display cabinet illustrating a pair of corner locking devices for holding adjacent doors of the cabinet;

Figs. 6 is an enlarged plan sectional detail of one corner of the display cabinet as viewed along the section line 6-6 in Fig. 5; and

Fig. '7 is a similar view of another corner of the cabinet.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the embodiment of the invention herein disclosed comprises a housing structure which in size and shape is analogous to the ordinary gasoline dispensing pumps commonly employed in gasoline 20 stations and is adapted to be installed in such a station in convenient proximity to such pumps where it will be both handy and conspicuous. The main supporting frame of the device cornprises four upright, right angled sections constituting corner members i which are located in the corners and are secured at their lower ends to a base molding 2 and at their upper ends to a crown molding 3.

Secured to the corner members by suitable supports in the front of the structure and at 'a convenient height above the base 2, is a platform 5 which is employed as a support for an ordinary measuring and pouring dispenser 5 into which the oil, contained in the cans being opened by the apparatus, is emptied for delivery to 'a purchaser.

At a suitable height above such measuring support platform 5 a second platform I is provided which is secured to the four corner members I and which is used as a base support for the can (designated by the numeral ll in Figs. 1 and 2) when it is being opened preparatory to being crushed. In the center of the support 1 and in the forward portion thereof, there is provided a downwardly extending funnel projection 8 in which the bottoms of the cans are adapted to fit and through which the oil from an open can is allowed to flow into the measuring dispenser 6 supported on the lower platform 5.

For opening the can I l a series of spaced vertically disposed outwardly curved knives 9 is mounted about the upper inner face of the funnel shaped can receiving projection 8 and these knives engage and pierce the bottom of the can as it is forced down on such knives. The knives are sufficiently wide to form a relatively large opening in the can so that the can contents can be emptied with considerable rapidity.

A movable cross head 53 is provided for positively forcing the can into these knives and this cross head is also used for crushing the can as it is emptied thus conditioning it so that it cannot be reused. Cross head I3 is supported at a convenient height above the knives on a pair of guide rods I2 and is provided on its under side with a series of lugs which form a centering guide I4 for the upper end of the can II when it is engaged by the cross head.

On the lower end of each of the two guide rods I2 there is provided a gear rack I6 and each rack engages a pinion I! (Fig. 1) mounted on a shaft I8 which is suitably journaled in supports I9 attached to the under side of the platform 5. The shaft I8 and its pinions I! are turned by manual operation of a spoked wheel 2| which is keyed to one end of the shaft.

When the wheel 2| is turned in one direction the can crushing head I3 is moved downwardly and when it is reversed or turned in the opposite direction the head is raised. The wheel 2! is of a size and strength to provide the necessary leverage to effectively force the cans onto the knives for opening and to crush them after opening.

For stripping the opened and crushed can from the knives 9 after it has been emptied, a stripper 23 is provided which is mounted directly over the funnel shaped opening in the can supporting platform I. This stripper is pivotally connected by a hinge 24 to the center portion of the platform I and is located directly behind the funnel shaped opening of the projecting part 8.

Stripper 23 is formed adjacent opposite sides with projections 23a which extend to the edges of the guide rods I2 on which the cross head I3 is mounted. The guide rods in turn are provided with pivotally mounted latches or dogs 26 which are adapted, on the down stroke of the guide rods, to slide over and snap past the ends of the projections 23a of the stripper 23. When the guide rods are raised the dogs 26 engage these projections 23a and lift the front edge of the stripper As the guide rods I2 approach the end of their upward movement the dogs 26 slide along the lower edge of the projections 23a and pass beyond the edge allowing the stripper to fall back into its normal position and rest on the platform I. It is when the stripper 23 is raised along its forward edge that the crushed can is stripped from the knives 9 and this crushed can II slides back over the stripper and into an opening 25 formed in the rear of the platform I. Passing through this opening the crushed can falls through an open ended, tubular chute 21 and thence into a receptacle 22 provided for its reception in the base of the structure.

The receptacle 22 (Figs. 1 and 2), which is insertable into and is adapted to rest within the base of the structure, comprises a removable container which fits conveniently between the uprights or corner members I. When in inserted position (Fig. 2) its front section is spaced below the lower platform 5 while its rear part extends up and adjacent to the under face of the platform.

The top of the front part of the receptacle 22 is formed as a downwardly tapered or conical cover 3| which is provided with an opening 32 in the center. This opening and the surrounding cover part 3| are directly below the dispenser 6 when the latter is -in filling position on the platform 5 and is thus located to catch any oil passing through a perforated or grid section 33 formed in the support 5 and providing a base for the dispenser.

The top of the rear portion of the receptacle 22 (designated by the numeral 34) is open and is in vertical alignment with the opening 25 formed in the platform I and is aligned beneath the chute 21. A can I I after it has been emptied and crushed and stripped from the knives 9 by the tilted stripper 23, slides back through the opening 25, through the chute 21 and into the receptacle 22.

To facilitate the collection of any oil remaining in the cans after they are deposited in the receptacle as well as to aid in collecting the drips which fall into the opening 32 a perforated false bottom 35 is provided in the lower part of the receptacle 22.

This false bottom is spaced above the true bottom 40 and this forms a reservoir compartment 36 between the walls 35, 40. To facilitate draining of the oil from this compartment 36 the bottom 40 is tapered down toward the center and a spigot 31 is disposed adjacent the lowest point. Legs 29 are secured to the corners of the receptacle and hold the same in elevated position so that a collecting pan may be slid under the spigot and the oil drained from the receptacle when this becomes desirable.

A pair of spaced hand holds 38 may be secured to the rear wall of the receptacle 22 to permit easy lifting and handling of it so that it can be removed from the device or inserted back into can and oil collecting position. The lower part of the structure may be enclosed by side walls 39 which are extended around the front and sides of the uprights or corner members I and the rear may be closed by a swinging door 4I mounted on the back of the frame.

A storage compartment is provided in the top of the structure above the crushing head I3 and is arranged to contain and store a quantity of cans. 42 to distinguish them from a can I I when in the can opening position previously referred to. These cans 42 are either in display position or are enclosed within the storage compartment.

The storage compartment is adapted to be closed by four doors 43 (Figs. 3 and 4) each door along one edge being hingedly connected by a hinge 44 to the corner of the adjacent angle iron or corner member I. By reason of this hinge mounting each door may be swung through an angle of 270 and is adapted to be brought into one of two closing positions. The arrows shown in Figs. 3 and 4 indicate the direction of movement of the free edge of each door when it is swung from the position shown on one side of the compartment into its other closed position on an adjacent side.

A plurality of vertically spaced and aligned shelves 45 (Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive) are mounted on each door. These shelves receive the cans 42 and hold them in their display position when the door is in one closing position or in their enclosed storage position when the door is located on an adjacent side of the compartment.

When the various doors 43 are disposed in can enclosing position as shown in Fig. 4 the shelves 45 and theirsupported cans 42 are fully disposed within the storage cabinet. When the four doors are in the other of their hinged positions as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 the shelves 45 and These cans are designated by the numeral I the cans supported thereby are exposed on the outside of the compartment and are then in display position. By means of this construction the device may be changed to provide an eifective display of the cans when the station is open for business or to lock the cans within the compartment when it is closed.

For locking the doors in either position double locking devices are disposed in two diagonal corners of the cabinet, one such double device being set forth in detail in Figs. and 6. Each element of a double locking device comprises a sliding plate 56 and these two plates have their inner edges adjacent. The plates are slidably held on their associated angle iron or corner member I by rivets or pins e1. These rivets are secured to the angle iron and extend inwardly through vertical slots 48 cut adjacent the inner edges of the flange plates. The rivets t! are provided with enlarged heads to prevent dislocation of the plates, the slots 33 allowing for vertical movement relative to the stationary rivets.

Vertically disposed slots 59 are formed in the outer portion of each flange plate so and these slots are enlarged at their lower ends into round openings 5E]. The openings 50, when the slide bar 36 is raised into its upper position, are adapted to receive the enlarged heads of rivets 52 which are carried on three of the four doors at shown.

After the head of the rivet 52 has passed through the opening 50 its flange plate 35 is dropped into a lower position and the slot 49 in the plate thereupon slides down over the body of the rivet 52 and looks that door in position. Figure 5 discloses the left hand door &3 locked in such position the locking unit 56 to the left being used for this purpose. The door 43 shown on the right of Fig. 5 is not affected in any way by the right hand slide plate it which it will be observed is located adjacent the hinge edge of this door.

To provide for easy manipulation or sliding of a plate :35 a lug 53 may be struck from the inside section of the plate intermediate its length.

Only one unit or element of each double locking device comprising the slide plates 45 just described is used at one time. If the left hand door d3 (Fig. 5) were to be swunginto its other closed position it would be moved away from the locking plate t5 on the left hand side. If after this is done the right hand door 43 were to be moved into its other closed position, by swinging about the corner of the angle iron member i, it would be brought into engagement with the left hand locking plate it. This plate under such supposed condition would then be adjacent the hinge side of the door and its slots 49, 5G would then not be utilized.

In Figures 3 and 4 of the drawings the double corner locking devices just described are located in the upper right hand corner and in the lower left hand corner. In the opposite corners, that is, the upper left hand corner, and the lower right hand corner only a single locking plate 46 is provided. This plate is of the same construction and operates in exactly the same manner as each element or plate 38 of the double slide plate unit already described, this single plate being located on one side or leg of the angle iron.

On the other leg of each of the angle irons l adjacent these last mentioned corners of the compartment there is located a key operated lock 54 which may be of the usual standard slide lock construction. Three of the doors 53 are locked in either of their closed positions by the slide plates d6 (of either a single or double locking unit) engaging the free or unhinged edges of the doors. The fourth door is adapted to be locked in one position by one of the key locks 54 and when in the other position by the key lock located in the opposite diagonal corner.

For example this fourth door is indicated on the left in Fig. 3 and at the bottom in Fig. 4. This door is provided adjacent its free edge with lock engaging keepers 5! (see also Fig. '7). These keepers are arranged on the two faces of the door, the keeper which is brought into the inside of the cabinet being engaged by the particular key lock 5 5 at that position.

By locking the fourth door in this manner the entire cabinet is closed both when the cans are in display position (Fig. 3) or in enclosed position (Fig. 4). By means of this construction the doors cannot be opened or changed from one position to another without first releasing the free edge of the fourth door by manipulation of a key in its holding key lock 5 It should be understood that the three doors which are locked by the slide plate 46 can only be released by manipulation. of a slide plate from the inside of the cabinet.

On the top of the frame there may be provided a transparent dome 55 similar to domes customarily provided on gasoline pumps and in it an electric light 56 may be installed for advertising purposes. A similar light 5? is also mounted in the under side of the crown mold 3 in a manner to project its light downwardly between the shelves 45 or inside of the doors 5-3 when they are locked in their display positions so that the crushing head and can receiving platform of the device will be illuminated to render the operation of the emptying and crushing mechanism visible to the purchaser.

To insure this visibility and at the same time protect the crushing and emptying mechanism against the weather transparent walls 58 of glass may be secured around the back and side walls of the structure and if desired a similar detachable wall may be provided for closing in the front of the structure when it is not in use.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

I claim:

1. In a dispensing device, having a plurality of equal sides spaced by a plurality of corner members, a door hinged to each corner member of said device and adapted for hinging movement to close one of two different sides thereof, and means associated with a said door for supporting packaged commodities on one side thereof, so that when all of the doors are closed in one position the packages are all exposed and when the said doors are closed in another position the packages are all enclosed by said doors, and sliding plates movably supported on the corners of said device and extending to the upper and lower parts of the same for locking said doors at their upper and lower parts.

2. In a dispensing device having a plurality of equal sides spaced by a plurality of corner members, a plurality of doors each hinged to a respective corner member of said device and adapted to be swung into one of two different positions and to close one of two adjacent sides of the device, means for supporting packaged commodities on one side of each of said doors so that when the doors are closed in one position said packages are all exposed and when closed in another position said packages are all enclosed within a compartment formed by said doors, sliding plates extending to the upper and lower parts of the doors and movably attached to said device at the corners of the same for releasably locking said doors in either of their closed positions, and means on said doors for cooperating with said sliding plate members for the described locking purposes.

3. An apparatus for storing and displaying sealed containers, comprising the combination of a container compartment having a plurality of openings adapted to be closed by a plurality of doors, vertically disposed corner members spacing said doors, each of said doors being hinged to a respective corner member so as to close either of two adjacent openings, means associated with each of said doors to support containers and to confine them within said compartment when a said door closes one of said openings and to display them outside of said compartment when the said door closes the other of said openings, means for releasably locking said doors in their closed positions, said locking means comprising sliding plates extending to the upper and lower parts of said doors and attached to the'container compartment at the corners of the same, and means on said doors for cooperating with said sliding plate members for the described locking purposes.

4. In a dispensing device having a plurality of equal sides and enclosing a compartment, the combination of doors hinged at the corners of said device each door being adapted to close on two different sides thereof, shelves for supporting packaged commodities on corresponding sides of said doors so that when all of the doors are closed in one of their two positions said packages are all exposed and when all of said doors are closed in the other of their positions said packages are all contained within said compartment, sliding means associated with the corners of said device and adapted to selectively lock three of said doors in either of their closed positions, said sliding means comprising vertical locking plates having openings at their upper and lower parts and slots communicating therewith, and corresponding pins on said doors, and key actuating means associated with two corners of said device for locking the fourth door in each of its two closing positions.

5. In a dispensing device, the combination of hinge elements at the corners thereof, angle sections at the corners of said device to which said hinge elements are secured, doors hinged on said elements and extending from one of said hinge elements to another, to form a compartment to be opened and closed, a slidable locking device at each of the vertical edges of said doors and mounted on an angle section, and means on said doors engageable by said locking devices, whereby a door may be secured to either of two angle sections.

6. In a dispensing device, the combination of hinge elements at the corners thereof, angle sections at the corners of said device on which said hinge elements are mounted, doors hinged on said elementsand extending from one of said hinge elements to another, to form a compartment to be opened and closed, a vertically slidable looking device at each of the vertical edges of said doors and mounted on an angle section, and means on said doors engageable by said locking devices, whereby a door may be secured to either of two angle sections.

7. In a dispensing device, the combination of hinge elements at the corners thereof, angle sections at the corners of said device on which said hinge elements are mounted, doors hinged on said elements and extending from one of said hinge elements to another, to form a compartment to be opened and closed, a vertically slidable locking device having slots and located at each of the vertical edges of said doors and mounted on an angle section, and pins on said doors engageable by the slots of said locking devices, whereby a door may be secured to either of two angle sections.

8. In a dispensing device, the combination of hinge elements at the corners thereof, angle sections at the corners of said device to which said hinge elements are secured, doors hinged on said elements and extending from one of said hinge elements to another, to form a compartment to be opened and closed, a vertically slidable locking device at each of the vertical edges of said doors and mounted on an angle section, and means on said doors engageable by said locking devices, whereby either face of a door may be secured to an angle section.

WILLIAM S. TOWNSEND. 

